A study on the beneficiary youth's attitudes toward Youth Centers of Ministry of Youth and Sports and their perceptions of social policies: The case of Ankara province

As of 2021, the ratio of the youth population between the ages of 15-24 to the total population in Turkey is 15.3% (Turkish Statistical Institute, 2021a). Since this rate corresponds to a significant portion of the population, youth policy implementation in Turkey is of great importance. In the literature, it is stated that young people cannot be involved in the policy formation process within the scope of youth policies in Turkey, practices are not carried out in line with their expectations, studies do not bring permanent solutions, and there is no institutional structure where young people can convey their requests. The study analyzes the perception levels of young beneficiaries of MOYS regarding the social policy practices carried out through the Youth Centers of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey and presents policy recommendations to improve the quality of services provided for youth policy activities. The questionnaire form "Approaches of Young People Receiving Services from Youth Centers towards the Perception of Social Policy" (Davulcu, 2020a) was applied in the research. The research data consists of 608 students selected by random sampling from the beneficiaries of MOYS between the ages of 13-29. The research was carried out using the correlational survey method, one of the general survey models within the quantitative research method. Validity and reliability analyses of the research data and comparisons between groups were analyzed using the SPSS 25 package program. After examining the assumptions of parametric tests, it was determined that the assumptions were met, and t-tests and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The Tukey test is used for multiple comparison tests. It has been determined that there is a significant relationship between the levels of young beneficiaries of MOYS towards youth centers, social policy and youth center services, and the levels of social policy services as a whole. It has also been revealed that there is a significant relationship between the levels of perception of the concept of social policy and the levels of social policy services. Keywords: Youth, Youth Center, Youth Policies, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Social Policy